None of his guesses had been right. What Hae-hyun said was the truth. His protest—that he’d never thought of it that way—wasn’t because he was embarrassed or hadn’t realized it yet. He had genuinely believed it.
People were instinctively drawn to him because he carried the aura of a Cheonrok. That was why Hae-hyun treated him kindly.
And he was the one who had completely misunderstood it.
“Are you okay?”
“With what?”
“They’re saying I’m popular because I’m a Cheonrok.”
“Ugh, seriously, cut the crap. You’re not that amazing, okay?”
Ah-young made a face. True or not, she hated the idea of agreeing with something that smug.
“Still, Jae-ha did get an odd amount of affection growing up.”
Mu-yeon spoke under her breath. Jae-ha might have had delicate looks, but he wasn’t exactly the kind of kid people called adorable. If anything, Ah-young—with her similar face—had far more charm. And yet people often doted on Jae-ha, who barely reacted.
“Isn’t that just because he’s a boy?”
“No, he got mistaken for a girl all the time. Plenty of people told me how lucky I was to have such a pretty older sister.”
Before his teenage growth spurt, Jae-ha had fine, delicate features. And because Mu-yeon liked dressing him in androgynous clothes, he was constantly mistaken for a girl.
“You wouldn’t remember—you were still a baby—but when Jae-ha was in kindergarten and elementary school, tons of boys followed him home saying they wanted to marry him. Even when they hugged him or kissed him, he just stood there blankly. One kid even cried when I told him Jae-ha was a boy, insisting it couldn’t be true.”
Jae-ha had no memory of any of it.
“So he really was popular. Guess you are a Cheonrok.”
Ah-young grinned, clearly enjoying teasing her brother while slipping seamlessly into the bizarre fantasy world of shamans and spirits that had suddenly landed in her lap.
“So he wanted to marry me because I was a Cheonrok too?”
That absentminded murmur made both Mu-yeon and Ah-young freeze. It wasn’t like Jae-ha to dwell on such things—he usually brushed everything off with indifference. What’s with him? The two exchanged a quick glance but came up with nothing.
“…Who said they wanted to marry you?”
After tiptoeing through the awkward silence, Ah-young cautiously dangled the bait. Jae-ha let out a slow breath.
“It would’ve been nice if they had.”
So after everything, he had convinced himself his failure in love came down to his species. The thought was so absurd it made her want to bolt.
And in a way, he had bolted—by fleeing back to the family home. Once he knew the truth, there was no way he could lie in bed beside Hae-hyun as if nothing had happened. He was even willing to endure the cruel reality of waking up at dawn to commute to school if it meant putting some distance between them.
Then the bitterness hit—why had Hae-hyun treated him kindly at all? Why confuse him like that? Resentment flared, but right on its heels came shame for blaming someone else for his own wishful thinking. It wasn’t like Hae-hyun had chosen to be drawn to him. It was just the aura.
“Why not… try a little harder?”
It was the first time Ah-young had seen her brother look so shaken. The troubled expression sat awkwardly on his face, and she felt a twinge of pity. So she did her best to encourage him. But Jae-ha shook his head.
“Trying harder would just bother him. Honestly… I’ve got no confidence left.”
The truth was, Jae-ha had tried everything to win Hae-hyun over. Aside from a brief misunderstanding that threw things off, how shamelessly had he thrown himself at him? Some attempts had been so blatant they were embarrassing to even remember.
And still, if Hae-hyun hadn’t given in by now, he probably never would. From here on, all Jae-ha would get was humiliation.
It was a total defeat.
“…Want a drink? We’ve got beer, right?”
The hesitant offer earned only a flat response.
“Beer? I get wrecked after one can. Just finish the chicken.”
“Hey, I’ve built up my tolerance. I can handle three now.”
“Wow. Truly impressive progress.”
“You’re such an ass.”
Even as she swore at him, Ah-young’s expression brightened. She no longer had to force awkward words of comfort, and that alone lifted her mood. With a bounce in her step, she dashed to the fridge, determined to grab the beers.
With the subject naturally dropped, Jae-ha picked up another piece of chicken. Talking about it wouldn’t solve anything anyway. Thinking about it just made him feel pathetic.
There was only one solution. He’d have to learn to like Hae-hyun less. He couldn’t stop overnight, but he had to try. With time, maybe something would change. It was time to face reality.
Dinner took a little longer than usual, but the chicken box was eventually picked clean. Ah-young scurried off to her room—something about calling her boyfriend. For some reason, it annoyed Jae-ha more than usual tonight, and he was about to follow her to interrupt when Mu-yeon called out.
“Jae-ha, wait a sec.”
She led him to the built-in closet on the master bedroom balcony. After rummaging inside for a while, she finally pulled something out.
“Here, take a look at this.”
Jae-ha, lingering idly behind her, reflexively accepted what she handed him. It was a small lacquered box, its corners trimmed with tarnished metal—clearly something quite old.
“What is it?”
“These belonged to your grandmother. I kept them just in case. Some of them… I just felt like I shouldn’t throw away.”
She’d debated all through dinner whether or not to show him. But if Jae-ha had already stepped into that other world, hiding things wouldn’t help anymore. Ignorance might once have been bliss, but now knowledge was power.
“I don’t know what any of them are for. Your grandmother wasn’t the type to explain things.”
Maybe she thought Mu-yeon didn’t need to know since she had no abilities. Still, if she’d known things would turn out like this, she would’ve asked at least a little. Mu-yeon brushed her son’s cheek, her fingertips trembling faintly.
“Are you in danger right now?”
“…No. Not really.”
Jae-ha answered quietly. Some of what Mu-yeon had told him today he couldn’t fully accept, but he didn’t want to scold her. She had chosen what she thought was the right path, and it wasn’t like complaining now would change anything.
“I’m fine. There’s someone willing to help me, so don’t worry.”
A ghost might be targeting him, but with an Imoogi, a Haetae, and even a government agency involved, he wasn’t in serious danger. Even Hae-ryeong had said nothing bad would happen to him.
“That’s a relief. Still, don’t do anything too reckless.”
Mu-yeon smiled faintly. For once, the woman who always seemed so carefree looked her age.
Back in his room, Jae-ha sat on his bed and opened the box. The surface was spotless—not thanks to Mu-yeon, but surely the housekeeper’s diligent care. With a soft click, the lid folded back, revealing its contents.
The box was small, so there wasn’t much inside: a few letters written in Chinese characters, some old banknotes, a couple of oddly shaped jade fragments, a worn and faded talisman, a handful of trinkets that looked like children’s toys, and a norigae ornament with a wooden pendant.
Even staring at them, he couldn’t tell what most of them were for. He picked up one of the letters and used his phone’s auto-translate. The paper was so old the recognition was patchy, but he could make out enough to understand.
His eyes skimmed the screen: Han-duju, Seonghwaju, Sahyuju, Dohwaju… all unfamiliar terms, but they seemed to be names of alcoholic drinks. The rest of the page was filled with lists of liquors and ingredients. What he thought was a letter turned out to be an alcohol diary.
And there was more than one. So his grandmother had been a heavy drinker? Apparently he’d inherited his tolerance from her. …Wait, could a Cheonrok even get addicted to something? He shoved the idle question aside and carefully folded the papers back.
The finger-sized jade pieces were rounded—were they meant to be people? Animals? Hard to tell. He didn’t dare touch the talisman—after Yoon-taek’s incident, he figured it was better not to mess with anything that looked ominous.
Was this something she actually wore?
The last thing he picked up was the norigae.
